The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe (2005)

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe Synopsis

Based on C.S. Lewis’ classic children's novel, 'The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" follows the exploits of the four Pevensie siblings -- Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter -- in World War II England who enter the world of Narnia through a magical wardrobe while playing a game of ‘hide-and-seek’ in the rural country home of an elderly professor. Once there, the children discover a charming, peaceful land inhabited by talking beasts, dwarfs, fauns, centaurs and giants that has become a world cursed to eternal winter by the evil White Witch, Jadis. Under the guidance of a noble and mystical ruler, the lion Aslan, the children fight to overcome the White Witch’s powerful hold over Narnia in a spectacular, climactic battle that will free Narnia from Jadis’ icy spell forever.

Work on the upcoming Narnia movie, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe marches onward, despite continued disinterested from me. Frankly, for me, Lord of the Rings was enough. Long before I read Lord of the Rings I was in love with C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia saga. In fact, it is so good that I managed to convince a friend of mine who’d never read a book in his life to give them a try. He read them all before he was 15. He started when he was 12. Not a strong reader that kid.

The Narnia books are great pieces of children’s literature, about on par with your average book of Harry Potter. Actually scratch that. Having recently re-read them I've realized I'm wrong about that. The Narnia books are a LOT more simplistic, at times only a couple of steps above 'Jim Jump'. There’s nothing wrong with them, but there’s still no shaking my disinterest. It just seems like the fantasy thing has already been adequately covered, and done by adapting a much more mature, intelligent, literary work. On the adult end, nothing is going to top the work of Peter Jackson. Skewing towards the more kiddie end of the scale, we’re going to have another half-decade’s worth of Harry Potter. In between all that we’ll be sitting through things like Lemony Snicket. I just don’t see the need for another.

But, fantasy movies and Jesus movies are the hot ticket right now, and Narnia manages to cover both basis since the whole story is one big allegorical love letter from C.S. Lewis to Christianity. The Lion is Jesus or John the Baptist or something like that. Here’s hoping The Chronicles of Narnia can show something that’ll spark some real interest.